So I finally finished this game and gotta say, judging by this game's caution they definitely wanted to shove the themes of the game down your throat.

I think one of the things that I actually don't like at all about this game is its gameplay. It's definitely one of the biggest downsides about this game. I don't think I've seen a JRPG with more boring and brain-dead mechanics. It's your typical turn-based JRPG but with one of the worst mechanics I've ever seen in a JRPG. That being the so-called "Rock Paper Scissors". One of the things that I don't like about it is the fact that it just doesn't work in a game where you can defeat every enemy just fine without getting any of the emotions. Why would I want to waste a turn or two just to get my characters to a certain emotion if I can just do the same or more amount of damage with the "neutral" emotion? This just results in you pressing the A button until you win which also made me sometimes question why is this even a game because there isn't even an Auto Battle mechanic which is insane for a game like that and could've made it just a little more bearable.
In terms of story I could already guess most of the game's plot twists in the first 5 or so hours of the game. That's how obvious they are. I agree though that there were some plot twists I didn't see coming up until the very ending which were fairly well written and were actually pretty good. At least the main characters were pretty alright.
The music was actually pretty alright for most of the game. Will I remember most of it like I have in multiple other JRPGs I've played in my life? Probably not, but there were some I really liked and the tracks definitely don't get annoying.

This game was supposed to be a graphic novel of sorts at first and you can definitely see it. I actually wouldn't have thought that this game was that bad, or maybe it would've been even better, if it was that graphic novel. OR. If they wanted to make a "game" then they could've made a Visual Novel out of it, which I don't think would hurt the game in any way. Honestly. If you like Earthbound kind of JRPGs, like Undertale, then you'll probably like this game. But for me, this is unfortunately a pretty high-mid game. I think that there are far better JRPGs and stories out there in general but you might like it and that's what matters the most.

A continuation of short stories from Ryukishi07 based in an unnamed school about students getting bullied or whatnot. Well, that's more like what the first night of the game was all about to be honest. I forgot to say this in my "First Night" review but the stories don't really go anywhere in general because you don't really get to know any of the characters and when you do learn about them you don't see them in any other short story besides the one that was about them which sucked.
This game fixes this in a way. Not only it reintroduces several stories that expand and build more character on already existing characters but also introduces new characters which are great in their own regard.
Speaking of Youkai which are a very important part of the story. They weren't exactly expanded upon in the "First Night" as well. They just were there. And that was because that game was primarily ALL just about bullying. "Second Night" manages to fix it by introducing stories which expand on the Youkai, their backstories and why and how they act the way they act (with the final story being my personal favorite).

If you're reading this then that means you've probably already read the "First Night" of Higanbana and if you did, then the "Second Night" for sure is a no brainer. Just like the first game it definitely wasn't as good as Higurashi or Umineko but there's still a lot of fun to be had here if, again, you love Ryukishi's horror.

This visual novel from the "Dragon Knight 07" is a collection of short stories revolving around a couple school students. Each story is quite different and most of the time they're not really connected with each other, but obviously you'll need to have an understanding of those before you even can start the next story. Me, personally, I liked most of them but I can understand why this might not be everyone's cup of tea. There are a few stories that basically just tell that there's nothing you can do so there's not much of a reason for the story to exist (Well, there's only one story like that and I still liked it).

If you enjoy Ryukishi's writing style and how he deals with horror, yeah, you can read this as well. And you'll probably get an enjoyment out of it in some way or another just like I did. Don't expect a "When They Cry" kinda deal out of this game though. It's definitely not going to be a good time if you do.